Crazy
by dovaly
Summary: When he was 12, a strange doctor came to his school and proclaimed Alfred as mentally ill. Matthew knows this to be a lie and is determined to free Alfred. But what really goes on in Dr. Corcoran's Hospital for the Mentally Ill? USUK PruCan
1. Chapter 1

Matthew knew there was something wrong with that man the first time he laid eyes on him. The teacher told the class that he was a doctor just here to do a "routine" check-up. Matthew could never recall the school giving check-ups before, and that man! Matthew could see something spark in the doctor's eyes when he saw Matthew's twin brother, Alfred. Alfred, of course, didn't notice a thing. He just rambled on and on while the doctor _inspected_ him with that queer glint in his eye.

When the doctor finished checking-up all of the students, he left, but not before casting one more glance at Alfred. Matthew grabbed Alfred's hand possessively. Alfred gave him a questioning look before shrugging and turning to gab with his friend, Kiku.

A few months went by since that day the doctor came to their school, and Matthew almost put the incident from his mind. That all changed, however, when on one sunny, April day the twins came home to find that man in their lawn and talking to their mother.

"Why is the doctor from school here," Alfred asked his twin.

"I don't know," Matthew replied while gripping his brother's hand, "but I don't like it. Something seemed off about him and he looked at you weird. I'm scared."

Alfred glanced at the doctor worriedly at the doctor. Matthew was the perceptive one of the two, and in Alfred's twelve years of existence, he learned to trust his twin's judgment. If Matthew felt that there was something wrong with that man, Alfred knew he should be wary. Still, that was no reason to let his brother be scared. "Don't worry, Mattie," Alfred said, "I'm a hero and I'll never let anything bad happen."

Matthew smiled a little, but his nerves never left him as they approached their house. When the man and their mother finally noticed the twins, both of their eyes went toward Alfred.

"Alfred, Matthew, this is a Doctor Corcoran. He has come to inform us that he has noticed something is wrong with Alfred," their mother explained.

"What!" Alfred exclaimed at the same moment Matthew yelled "What do you mean?"

"Yes, while examining the students at your school, I noticed a few peculiarities about Alfred. I have come to the conclusion that Alfred is mentally ill."

The boys stared dumbly at the doctor. Matthew couldn't believe it. Sure, Alfred was odd and convinced that aliens existed, but Matthew could not recall a single moment when Alfred acted mentally ill.

"This must be a mistake, Alfred couldn't possibly be-"

"I've noticed it myself a few times," their mother said, cutting Matthew off, "but luckily this doctor is offering Alfred space in his mental hospital where Alfred will get the best treatment possible, right?" the doctor nodded with that odd glint in his eye again, "Pack up a bag, Alfred, you're leaving with him today."

"But Mother! I-" Alfred was silenced by the angry look in his mother's eye, and ran up to his room with his twin trailing behind. He couldn't believe it. He always knew his mother disliked him. Alfred's eyes were the color of his abusive, rapist father, and Alfred's mother hated them. But he never thought she would purposely get rid of him. And what was up with the doctor calling him crazy? He wasn't crazy, he just wasn't!

When Matthew finally caught up with Alfred, he found his twin crying on the bed. It was odd; he had never seen Alfred cry before. Matthew hugged his brother while holding in his own tears. He had to be a hero for the brother who was always a hero for him.

"Mattie, I'm scared. I don't want to leave and go with that man. And I'm not, I'm not crazy," Alfred burst into a bout of uncontrollable sobs.

"Shh, it'll be alright," Matthew soothed while clinging more tightly to Alfred, "You're not crazy, so they'll let you go. And if not, I'll find a way to get you out of there."

"You promise?" Alfred asked softly.

"Promise."

Matthew then helped Alfred pack. Before they went downstairs, Matthew handed Alfred a stuffed polar bear.

"Are you sure you want me to take Kumajiro," Matthew nodded and Alfred reached in his bag and pulled out a green alien "Here, take Tony so you have something to remember me by, too."

With that, they went downstairs. Doctor Corcoran immediately grabbed Alfred and pulled him towards his car.

"Bye, Alfie, I love you!" Matthew called.

"I love you, too, Mattie," Alfred replied, "And I love you, Mother."

Their mother just pursed her lips and turned away.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks, everyone, for the reviews! I really hope you enjoy this chapter. Don't expect them to come out as fast, or be as long, as this one. I was really hit by the muse and just couldn't stop. Enjoy!

* * *

"Come _on, _Gilbert!" Matthew yelled while grabbing his boyfriend's hand.

"Whoa, Mattie, slow down. What's your hurry?"

"What's my hurry?" Matthew practically screamed, "After ten years, I've finally done it. I'm finally getting Alfred out of that hospital!"

Those ten years Matthew obsessively spent trying to free his twin brother. The first year of Alfred's absence Matthew clung to Tony and would only speak to his mother when begging her to get Alfred out of the mental hospital. She refused to yield. So Matthew tried another tactic. He began to rebel and skip classes. He was into drugs by the time he was fifteen and partied heavily. That was how he met Gilbert.

_Matthew took another swig of alcohol and looked around the room for Ramon, his Cuban friend and ride. The Cuban was no where to be found. He was probably passed out or fucking that Mexican chick. __It really didn't matter. Either way he was walking home tonight, which was alright by him because he would be out later and make his mother worry more. Then, maybe, she would give in. _

"_Hello, cutie, I've seen you around a few times," Matthew glanced up to see an albino boy grinning at him, "What's a cute boy like you doing at all of these parties?"_

"_What's it to you?" Matthew mumbled, a little perturbed at the attention the albino boy was giving him. People usually ignored him at these parties, which was how Matthew liked it. He just wanted to get high or drunk and then go home._

"_The awesome me was just curious. You're just so adorable and alone, so I figured I would come over and talk to you. So, cutie, what's your name?"_

"_Matthew Williams," Matthew whispered._

"_Well, hello, Mattie, my name is Gilbert Beilschmidt, but I also answer to 'awesome.'"_

_Matthew glanced at the boy again. He was two or three years older than Matthew and looked like a hooligan. Matthew smiled, perfect._

"_Do you mind giving me a ride home, Mr. Awesome, my ride is currently MIA."_

The two had begun dating after that, which really freaked his mother out, but did not cause her to ask for Alfred's release. It didn't matter now because Matthew got legal custody of Alfred from his mother and was now removing Alfred like he promised all those years ago.

The hospital looked old. It was made of reddish-orange bricks and was covered on ivy. A white sign above the portal read _Doctor Corcoran's Hospital for the Mentally Ill_. Matthew didn't like it, especially because the cast-iron gated back yard seemed ominously untouched as if they never allowed their patients outside. Alfred had loved nature and reveled in spending time outdoors.

Matthew knocked on the door and a nurse with a sour face opened it.

"Um, hello, I'm Matthew Williams and this is Gilbert Beilschmidt I'm here to pick p my brother, Alfred Jones," Matthew said quietly. The nurse pursed her lips and gestured for them to follow her. The corridor was white and sterilized, just what you would expect from a mental hospital. All of the doors were closed and Matthew did not see a single other person. The nurse opened a door near the end of the hall, and Matthew and Gilbert stepped through it.

Sitting behind a desk was a man that haunted Matthew's memories. It was that doctor who took Alfred away. Matthew inched closer to Gilbert and grabbed his hand in a death grip.

"Mr. Williams, I understand that you wish to remove your brother, Alfred Jones, from this facility. I must warn you that your brother is severely mentally ill and advise you from taking him," Doctor Corcoran said warmly. After ten years, he still creeped Matthew out.

"You and I both know that there's nothing wrong with Alfred. And even if there was, I would still prefer that he lived with me instead of in this prison," Matthew hissed. Ten years of anger and frustration were showing on the normally passive blonde.

"Very well," Doctor Corcoran sighed, "Mrs. Pollitz, please take Mr. Williams and this other gentlemen to pick up Alfred."

The sour looking nurse appeared again and led them to another unassuming door off the sterile white hallway with the letter 'E' painted above it in black. This room was full of life. Ten male patients, all around Matthew's age, were strewn about the room engaged in various activities and none of them seemed to notice Matthew or Gilbert. There were two brunettes sitting on the couch directly in front of Matthew engrossed with a bag of plastic tomatoes. Four other patients sat in front of a TV that was playing _101 Dalmatians_. A really girly looking blonde was sucking another brunette's face on an armchair to one side of the room.

What really caught Matthew's attention, however, was a pair of blondes sitting on a loveseat in the far corner. One of the blondes had his head turned to the side and was talking animatedly to nothing. The other blonde, oh, the other blonde, was lying against the first blonde's back. His eyes were closed and in his hands he hugged something familiar. It was Kumajiro, Matthew's old polar bear, and that boy, it was Alfred! After ten years, Matthew was finally seeing his brother again.

"Alfred," Matthew called softly, "Wake up, Alfie, it's me, Matthew, your brother." Alfred's eyes blinked opened and turned to stare at Matthew. Instead of the happiness Matthew expected to see in those eyes, all that was there was confusion.

"Ma-Matthew?" Alfred asked dumbly.

"Yeah, you know, Matthew, your twin brother?" Matthew's heart was beginning to sink. Why didn't Alfred remember him?

Alfred turned to the blonde who was still conversing with air. "Arthur, do you see him? Is there really a man who looks like me standing in front of us?"

Arthur turned towards Matthew, and then nodded. Alfred's eyes finally, _finally_ lit up with the joy and recognition Matthew had been hoping for. Alfred launched himself at his brother and brought them both to the floor with his tackle hug, all the while saying, "I knew you were real, I just _knew_ it."

By this time, all of the room's attention was focused on the two brothers. "Hey, Alfred, who's, like, that?" asked the effeminate blonde who had apparently halted his make-out session.

"This is my twin brother, Matthew," Alfred announced proudly like a kindergartener showing off. Matthew noticed how most of the patients seemed a little upset at the words 'twin brother,' especially the smaller of the two brunettes that were playing with the plastic tomatoes. Matthew shrugged it off, thinking that maybe Alfred had talked about Matthew one too many times. He recalled that Alfred had a habit of talking a topic to death.

"But, Mattie," Alfred asked hesitantly, a thought just occurring to him, "Why are you here? And who is that other man with you?"

"This is my-" he hesitated, unsure of Alfred's thoughts on homosexuality. It wasn't a major topic of serious conversation to two twelve-year-old boys, "-my really good friend, Gilbert. And we've come to take you home, just like I promised."

Alfred's eyes widened slightly with fear, "Home? With Mother? I can't! Mother hates me because I'm a bad boy, really bad, I can't, she will-"

"Shh," Matthew said softly, cutting off Alfred's panicked rant, "We're not going home to Mother. I have my own house now, and you're going to live with me."

"Really?" Alfred asked. At Matthew's nod, Alfred excitedly shouted, "Guess what, guys, I'm leaving! My brother's taking me home, outside!"

"Congratulations, mon ami," said a blonde who sat neat the TV.

"The outside will be fun, da?" said a silver headed man next to the French blonde.

"You are so lucky," the taller brunette with the tomatoes said while the smaller one glanced between the two twins with a queer look in his eyes.

The other patients began gathering around, giving him their congratulations and telling him they'd miss him. All except one. The green-eyed blonde who had originally been sitting with Alfred stood in to the side with his eyes downcast. Eventually, the others noticed him and backed away so he and Alfred had a clear view of one another.

"I guess you're leaving."

"Artie-"

"I'm glad you're leaving. It's a good thing you're getting out of this bloody place, but-" Arthur began crying. Alfred immediately ran towards Arthur and embraced him in a gentle hug.

"Don't cry, don't cry," Alfred soothed, "I'll always love you. And you still have the rest of the group. Oh, and the faeries," the two shared a small laugh at that, "And I promise we'll see each other again. This isn't goodbye forever, not like-" the two began crying in each other's arms, and the others in the group seemed teary-eyed as well.

"Come on, Alfred, we better get going," Matthew said after the nurse gave a little cough. Alfred turned to Matthew with a bright smile on his face, a complete 180 from the crying mess he was two seconds ago. He gave Arthur a quick kiss, then grabbed Matthew's hand, practically pulling him out the door. The three of them followed the nurse down the hallway and to the exit.

Matthew smiled happily. He finally got his brother back. But something seemed wrong. His brother was odder than he remembered, almost…crazy. Most of the time, he talked and acted like a child, and he swung between moods faster than a pregnant teenager. But the thing that really made Matthew worry was how Alfred didn't recognize Matthew at first and how he needed Arthur to tell him that Matthew was really there. These worries plagued Matthew as Gilbert drove the three of them away from that horrible mental hospital that stole away his brother for a decade.

~o~o~o~

"So you're just letting him take Alfred?" Mrs. Pollitz asked.

"I have to. He is legally responsible for Alfred, and if I refused, there would be an investigation into our facility. We both know that we don't want that," Doctor Corcoran explained.

"But what if he talks? He's a liability to us now."

"Calm yourself, Miranda; I have a few ideas on how to deal with this…problem. We have nothing to worry about."


	3. Chapter 3

Again, thank you everyone for the reviews. Now, on to the story!

* * *

When Dr. Corcoran first led him down the hall, Alfred's first thought was that it was too white. It was just white with no other colors save the black letters printed above some of the doors. He hated it and couldn't stand the thought of living in this monochrome white place. He hoped that they would realize he wasn't crazy. That it was a mistake and that they would send him back to his beloved brother and his bitch of a mother. Who was going to protect Mattie from bullies if he was stuck here in this pure white hospital?

"Ah, here it is," said Dr. Corcoran, stopping in front of a door with a black 'E' painted above it, "Group E. This will be your group. You will live with them, eat with them, and go through similar treatments with them. Boys!" he called while opening the door, "This is your new group mate, Alfred Jones. Alfred, these are your group mates. Arthur Kirkland," he pointed to a sandy blonde with green eyes and huge eyebrows, "Feliciano and Lovino Vargas," here he pointed to a pair of brunette twins, "and Berwald Oxenstierna," an intimidating-looking blonde grunted in response to his name, "Your group is fairly small right now, so you should probably expect some others to be put with you. Boys, make him feel at home. Remember, group therapy after breakfast tomorrow." Then the doctor left, leaving Alfred alone with these four strange boys.

"Um, hello," Alfred said awkwardly.

"Hi!" one of the twins, he was pretty sure it was Feliciano, greeted excitedly, "I'm glad we got another group mate! I mean, the others are great and all, but Berwald is a bit scary," the tall blonde seemed a little depressed at that statement, "and Arthur spends a lot of his time embroidering and Lovi yells at me a lot so it's really great to have someone else here. Do you like pasta? I like pasta! Maybe we can play a game where I am the pasta maker and you are the customer? That would be so much fun, ~ve!"

"Shut up, idiot," the other twin, Lovino, told his brother. Feliciano meekly hung his head and stopped rambling.

"Ah, it's okay, I'll play with you," Alfred said to the bubbly blonde, "I just don't know how long I'll be here. See, I'm not crazy-"

Arthur snorted, "Of course you're not crazy. No one here is. Well, Group C is a bit twitchy, but that started after their 'treatment' began. But whenever we complain to the doctors or nurses, they tell us that crazy people can't tell that they're crazy. So, who knows, maybe we are all crazy."

Feliciano nodded as if Arthur uttered some profound truth. Figuring that there was nothing else to do, he turned to Feliciano. "So you want me to be the customer, huh?"

~o~o~o~

Alfred woke up to someone calling his name and poking him.

"Five more minutes, Matthew," he grumbled, burying his head beneath the sheets.

"Who's Matthew?" a British voice that Alfred vaguely recognized asked. Alfred uncovered his head to see the bushy eyebrows of Arthur looming over him.

"Ah, he's my twin brother. He's nice and a bit shy and we look exactly alike accept for our eyes. His eyes are prettier than mine. They're nice and purple, much better than my ugly blue ones."

"I don't think they're ugly," Arthur blushed, than cleared his throat, "Well, anyways, you need to get changed. We have to go to the cafeteria for breakfast soon."

"Fine," Alfred muttered, grabbing a football t-shirt from the duffle bag he and his brother packed. The familiar logo gave him some comfort in that white, unfamiliar hospital. He quickly threw on some clean underwear and shorts, then left his bedroom into the Group E common room.

The other four boys were already in the common room. Feliciano was poking his brother who was apparently _not_ a morning person. Berwald was sitting in an armchair and reading a book whose title was not in English while Arthur sat in an armchair next to him…wait, was he knitting? Alfred did recall Feliciano complaining how Arthur embroidered all of the time; Alfred guessed he knitted, too. That was such a weird and unmanly hobby. Maybe Arthur belonged in this loony bin after all?

Before he had time to contemplate anymore on Arthur's activities, a nurse whose pitch-black hair was done up in a tight bun entered the room. "All right, Group E, everyone ready? Good. We can go to breakfast now."

"That's Mrs. Pollitz, our group leader," Arthur explained quietly as they followed her to the cafeteria.

"Yeah, she's in charge of us. She makes sure we behave and takes us to the cafeteria and therapy and stuff," Feliciano chimed in.

"I don't like her," Lovino added, and Berwald grunted in agreement, "She slapped Feliciano once when we first got here and he was crying for Grandpa. And she's always yelling and never smiles. She's a bitch."

"Lovi! Remember what Grandpa used to say about your swearing," Feliciano admonished. Lovino looked slightly apologetic.

The cafeteria was a fairly large room that housed a little less then a dozen circular tables. Each table could comfortably fit about ten people each and was labeled with a black letter. The other groups were already seated at their designated tables, and Alfred noticed that there weren't many patients in each group, barring one. Alfred commented on this.

"Yeah," Arthur answered, "most of the groups only have four or five people in it. The exception is, quite obviously, Group C," Arthur gestured to a table that sat eight patients. Alfred recalled that Group C was the one Arthur described as a bit 'twitchy.' Sure enough, those in Group C either shied away or flinched whenever one of the cafeteria workers came close to them. One boy began whimpering when a cafeteria accidentally brushed him while setting down a plate of eggs on his table.

"So," Alfred said while stuffing bacon into his mouth, "what do we do here?"

"We eat! They even serve pasta almost every day!" Feliciano said.

"Hmph, pasta isn't that great. I don't know why you're so obsessed with it. It's just food."

"Oh, and tomatoes are 'just food' too?" Feliciano retorted to his brother, somewhat uncharacteristic of his usually happy-go-lucky mood. Alfred figured he must really like pasta. Lovino just scowled.

"W' s'met'mes g' t' ther'py," Berwald added, ignoring the bother's fight.

"Yeah, today we have a group therapy after breakfast," Arthur said.

"Do we do anything else?"

Arthur shrugged at Alfred's question, "Not really. We just stay in our group rooms when we're not eating or doing therapy. I suggest you take up embroidery. It's very relaxing and time consuming."

"Eh, no thanks. But this place seems really boring. You mean we don't even get to go outside?" Berwald nodded negatively, "This sucks! If I'm not crazy already, I think this place may drive me to it."

"Are you boys finished?" Mrs. Pollitz asked, suddenly appearing at their table. The look in her eye implied that they'd better be or else. Alfred gave one last mournful look at the eggs before he and the other boys followed her to group therapy.

Mrs. Pollitz led them down that same white hallway Dr. Corcoran led him down the day before, and stopped in front a door with the words 'Group Therapy Room' aptly written above it in black letters. Inside the room was a dozen armchairs arranged in a circle. Sitting in one of those armchairs was Dr. Corcoran himself.

"Hello, boys," he greeted warmly, "Come, sit." The boys each picked an armchair. "Since Alfred is new here, why don't we go around and introduce ourselves. Berwald, you first."

"M' n'me is B'rw'ld 'nd I l'ke d's'gn'ng 'nd r'd'ng 'nd th't k'd T'no fr'm Gr'p H."

"All right," Dr. Corcoran said, "Very good. That was a whole sentence, you are getting better. Feliciano, why don't you go next?"

"Ve~ Of course! My name is Feliciano and I like pasta and my brother and pasta and playing and pasta and friends and pasta and, oh, yeah, pasta!"

"Er, okay. Your turn, Lovino."

"I'm Lovino and I like tomatoes and my idiot brother. Sometimes."

"Arthur."

"My name is Arthur and I'm from England. I enjoy reading, embroidery, and the occasional knitting. I'm also a fan of football. I mean real football, not that pansy excuse for rugby you Americans call 'football'" Arthur said, gesturing towards Alfred's shirt.

"Hey, I'll have you know-!"

"Alfred, Arthur, no fighting," Dr. Corcoran intervened. "It's your turn, anyways, Alfred."

"Okay. Well, I'm Alfred and I think football is the most awesomest sport on the planet!" Dr. Corcoran glared at him and Arthur muttered something about improper grammar. "I also like aliens and other sports. And I'm a hero! Just like Superman! I also really like my twin brother, Mattie! He's smart and kind and awesome!"

"Mattie?" the doctor asked, seeming genuinely puzzled.

"Yeah, you know, my brother? You saw him when you took me yesterday."

"I'm sorry, but I didn't see him and there is no record of a brother in your file. Your file said you are prone to delusions, you must have imagined this Mattie of yours."

"No, no, Mattie is real. He's my brother and Mother likes him more because he has her eyes and Dad's like I do! I beat up bullies for him and we share a room when I-he has nightmares. He's real!"

"I'm sorry, Alfred, maybe you made him up so he could be the perfect son? The son that you could never be?"

"No, he's real! Real!" Alfred broke down into sobs in front of those four other boys that he barely knew."

"Mrs. Pollitz," Dr. Corcoran called, "Perhaps you should take Alfred back to his room while I finish up group therapy."

Mrs. Pollitz entered the room grabbed Alfred's shoulder in a vice grip. Before she left the room, however, she and Dr. Corcoran shared a small smile. Alfred was too busy hyperventilating to catch the look, but Berwald and Arthur weren't. they both noted the look and kept it in a mental vault of weird things about the hospital.

~o~o~o~

Alfred sat in his room thinking about what the doctor had told. Matthew wasn't real. Impossible! He even had Mattie's stuffed polar bear, Kumajiro to prove it. He reached into his duffle bag and pulled out the aforementioned polar bear, hugging it close. All of those memories couldn't be faked. Could they? No, of course not! Mattie was most definitely real. Still, an inkling of doubt had been planted in Alfred's head.

Alfred heard a knock on his door. "Come in!" Alfred called and the door opened to reveal Arthur. Arthur walked over to Alfred and sat next to him on the bed. The two just sat on the bed staring at the wall for a while.

"I believe you," Arthur said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"I believe that you have a brother. You seemed too genuine when describing him for you have made him up. Those memories can not be imagined."

"Thanks," Alfred smiled slightly, "but I don't understand why Dr. Corcoran would tell me that Mattie isn't real!"

"I don't know, but there's something weird going on in this hospital. The doctor lying about your brother, the fact that no one is really crazy, and what's happening to Group C. None of it makes any sense," Arthur sighed in frustration.

"This place is weird. The doctor claims I'm mentally ill, but the only time he saw me before yesterday was at a random physical at my school. It's just too odd. Anyways, thanks again for telling me that you believed me. You didn't have to, we've only just met."

"Yeah, well," Arthur said, somewhat embarrassed, "we have to stick together. Our group has been thrown into this weird situation and we have to look out for another. We're all in this together, right boys?"

The other three boys must have been eves-dropping, because they all yelled "Yeah!" Maybe this wasn't as terrible as he thought. Sure he missed his brother and the freedom he had before, but at least these boys were nice and would look out for him. And he was a hero, so he'd look out for them, too.


End file.
